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Heavy Metal Detector

Submitted by admin
on 28. April 2016 - 17:50

Heavy Metal Detector is a format for urban walks and a novel distribution platform for music created by Steve Maher. A set of metal detectors is hacked to play heavy metal music when detecting metal in the ground. Using the detectors, the walk participants will uncover hidden sounds of the city, experiencing local sites in a new way.

Heavy Metal Detector plays with metaphors of the underground and archaeology, by making musical subcultures audible at sites of historical specificity. The project pays homage to the diversity of Finnish heavy metal cultures: 9 local bands participated in the project by contributing music from their repertoire for the playlist.

The walks premiered in Maunula on 6.6.2016, in an event commemorating Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister, who had recorded an advertisement at a local gas station just before he passed away. Further walks took place in Central Helsinki landmarks, the ancient cemetery of the Old Church Park and the Citizen Square next to the Music Hall and Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art. Since then, the project has toured in 11 cities in Finland and Europe.